Not What They Seem
by AeroCat
Summary: *FINALE SPOILERS* We all know that Ursa was banished because of what she did to help Ozai take the throne...but was there more to her disappearance than we know? Ursa, Zuko, Iroh, Ozai, and maybe more
1. Chapter 1

Yes, I know that I haven't written anything in over a year. And that this has nothing to do with _The Lion King. _And that I already posted this to my deviantART. :P

I've just had this idea stuck in my head since the _Avatar _aired (in the US), and wanted to write this down. It's the story with many themes. The mystery of what happened to a long-lost queen. The strengthening of an already-strong bond between a young man and his uncle. And in the midst of it all, a love story known by few, yet having a lasting effect on the only world these people have known. Enjoy.

**Not What They Seem-An Avatar Fanfic**

Chapter One

It was late at night, but the world was still bursting with life as the moon shone over a tranquil pond. Near the water's edge, a beautiful bird, which had soft feathers but a hard shell like a turtle's, watched over her young as they slept. One small turtle-duckling, however, chose not to remain by its mother's warm side and swam off towards the other edge. It's mother wasn't concerned as her watchful eyes followed her child...she had seen this for several nights...

The tiny duck swam up to a shadowy figure, sitting in the soft grass. The duckling hopped up on the bank and nestled next to the lone figure, allowing its feathers to be stroked by the stranger's hand. The figure sighed with a hot breath, as he picked up the small bird and laid it in his lap, letting it nap in his silk robes.

The young Fire Lord was just as used to this as the turtle-duck was. Whenever he wasn't busy with the affairs of his country, relaxing with his girlfriend, or out visiting his uncle in the city of Ba Sing Se, he was here, letting his thoughts out as his companion slept on in his lap. It was the only place he felt he could be alone...and the only spot he still felt the connection with his mother.

Day and night, he mulled over his encounter with his father, who he had visited in his prison cell a few weeks before. _Good riddance_, he thought, whenever he took the time to remember where the former Fire Lord's years of tyranny had gotten him. If it hadn't been for him, life could have been so much different...not only would the world had been a peaceful place, but he also wouldn't have been kept awake with his thoughts...

_"What do you want, boy?" the prison-garbed man snarled at the younger man. "I'm sitting here in this hell, and you're outside the bars, looking all noble and sipping tea with the Avatar! What more do you want?"_

_The robed man glared at the bedraggled one, considering to go up against the man, but preferring to control his temper. After all, he couldn't return to a past life, one that he was more than happy to leave behind...unlike this prisoner._

_"You know what I want, Ozai" the young man calmly replied, amazed that he ever called this thing "Father," ever thinking he could be loved by this man. "Just tell me where my mother is. Then I'll leave you alone...it's the most you deserve after all that's happen."_

_Ozai glared at his "son," feeling equally disgusted to ever referred to the man as that. "I told you before, I don't know. I don't normally associate myself with people that I exile."_

_"She was your wife, and the father of your potential heirs. Doesn't that make her a little more important?"_

_The man in the cell rolled his eyes, a look of disgust clearly visible on his face, even in the dim light. "Like she matters to me any more," he muttered. "It was an arranged marriage that got me nothing but two useless children. And yes, I was talking about your bratty sister too." he added, after seeing the look on his son's face. It was probably the first time he had ever called his daughter anything less of a prodigy._

_"But she also helped you get to the throne sooner," the Fire Lord reminded him. "Doesn't that count for anything?"_

_Ozai snorted. "My father would have died within months, anyway. And you should know better than anyone the powers I once had," he said, nodding to the burn covering nearly half of the young man's face. "If it hadn't been for that Airbending brat, I would have been in your place."_

_The younger man thought of what Ozai had said, and admitted that he __**did**__ make a good point. Ozai could have easily taken down his father, Azulon, on his own. He had the power, the wit, and enough servants to do it without anyone noticing. It was his own protection and his mother's love that caused her to assist her husband in Ozai's father, Azulon's, murder._

_It was at this moment the young man noticed something he hadn't before..._

_"You banished my mother because she helped murder my grandfather, correct?"_

_Ozai rolled his eyes again. "Pity your knowledge doesn't match your Firebending skills."_

_"Let me finish," the Fire lord said coldly. "You had to have a better reason for banishing her than that, you were just as involved in Azulon's murder as she was. What was it?"_

_Two pairs of eyes glared at each other through the iron bars as the prisoner spoke again. "Perhaps you should ask your dear uncle about that." he snarled. "He appears to be such a more caring person than I. Perhaps he'd be able to put a worthless bastard like you in his place-"_

_A flame shot through the bars, striking a spot on the cold stone floor inches from where Ozai. The man stared at the smoldering pile of ashes before looking up to glare at his son. The younger man had kneeled to the floor, his hands gripping the bars as he stared at the prisoner through spaces between the bars. His face was held in a tight glare, bursts of steam coming from his nose as he tried to calm down._

_"My uncle is more of a man than you'll ever be," he snarled, before getting up to leave. "Don't you ever forget that."_

A slight nip on his finger snapped the Fire Lord out of his thoughts. He looked down to see the young turtle-duck, looking upset that his companion had stopped stroking him. The young man continued with their routine, as he looked out into the pond, reflecting the moon and stars.

He had yet to discuss the details of that prison visit with his uncle, preferring to let him enjoy his retirement in peace. He had put up with enough of his nephew's problems over the years, so why throw more worries on him? However, the young man knew he would not be able to rest until he knew where his mother was, and any further circumstances of her disappearance. He laid the duck back in the water, and walked back into the palace.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

An aging man bit his lip as he glanced over the letter he had been reading. To say that he was surprised by its contents would be a lie, but he hadn't expected something like this to happen so soon. Not now, not when his life was close to perfect.

_It's been seven years, though, _he thought with a sigh. _He was bound to ask you about it sometime..._

The man looked into the vacant tea shop he was standing in, which he had aquired shortly after the war had ended. It had only been a few months since then, but he already felt too used to the peaceful life he had in his retirement, leaving all his excitement to serving tea, and playing Pai Sho with friends.

He couldn't say he hadn't expected something to break the calm, though. Everything had seemed all right when his nephew, Zuko, and his close friends had visited not long ago, with the boy finally being able enjoy the company of his former enemies. _The way it always should have been, _the old man thought with a smile.

However, Zuko didn't seem to be enjoying the day as much as everyone else. While he had seemed to be rid of the rough, angry personality he had grown over the years, he was quiet, and focused more on serving food to his friends than socializing. He liked the newfound companionship, as his uncle could usually tell, but he seemed distant from the others.

After his friends had left for the night, and Zuko had went to clean the dishes, the old man chose this time to confront him, and see what was going on.

_"It's amazing, Zuko...how much things have changed between you and the Avatar." he said to the young man. "Only a year ago, you were going after him and now look at you two now- friends!"_

_Zuko smiled at the older man's remarked, but only slightly. With this, his uncle pressed on-_

_"However..." he said slowly, "You didn't seem to enjoy tonight as much as they did. Now if it's about Aang and-"_

_"It's not about him and Katara, Uncle," Zuko said with a small laugh. He had seemed a bit surprised when he caught his two friends kissing early that night, but not bothered. "It's...about my father. I went to see him in prison the other day."_

_The old man frowned at his nephew. "I wouldn't go see your father, if I were you. His bending may have been taken away, but that doesn't leave him powerless."_

_"I know, Uncle," the younger man replied. "and I don't want anything he says or does to change me again. But...I had to know something..."_

_"Yes?"_

_Zuko looked up at his uncle, the sad eyes reflecting the troublesome boyhood he had. "I had to know where my mother was."_

_The older man sighed softly...he could barely imagine how hard it was for Zuko to live without his mother for all these years. She was the only one, besides her uncle that truly cared for the boy, and although it did shape the young man that sat before him, he found it to be unfair she had to be taken away from Zuko so early in his life._

_"Zuko, you know how my brother feels about her," he replied, remembering what his nephew had told him about his confrontation with Ozai on the Day of Black Sun, and how Ozai had revealed some details of what __**really**__ happened to his wife. "Don't expect him to tell you about her so easily."_

_"I know...I've tried to learn more," Zuko said, bitterly, not happy about the last talk with his father. "But...do you know anything?"_

_His uncle raised an eyebrow at the question. He didn't realize till then that his nephew had always left such questions to his father, never asking his uncle what happened. He remained silent, not sure how to answer._

_"Uncle Iroh...please..."_

_"I don't know anymore than you do," the older man firmly replied, not wanting to answer any more questions._

_Zuko looked at his uncle for a moment, not being able to believe that his uncle, who provided light in the darkest of times, who he thought had an answer to everything, couldn't even give a straight answer to what seemed to be an easy question._

_"Come on, Uncle," the younger man pressed on, hoping that he'd get some sort of response. "You're part of the family. You have to know __**something**__."_

_Iroh let out another sigh, deeper than before. "I'm sorry, Zuko," he said, his voice starting to sound hoarse. "But...I can't..."_

Iroh sighed, staring down at the letter, feeling as though he had betrayed his beloved nephew. Not only had the details he failed to share a few weeks ago sworn to secrecy, as a promise to both of Zuko's parents, but they were also painful memories. Thoughts of the same woman that Zuko lost. But Iroh never felt he could tell him how much he missed her as well.

Still, Zuko had the right to know the truth, even if it had the power to sever the close ties between him and his uncle.

Iroh gave a last glance at Zuko's letter, stating at it's last few characters..._There's a chance my mother could still be alive. I'm going to find her, Uncle, with or without her help._

He then left the letter on the table, and went into the small apartment he kept above the teashop. He returned with paper, ink, and calligraphy brushes. With a deep breath, and a sip of his now-cold jasmine tea, he wrote a short reply-

_If everything went right after the war, Ursa will still be alive. Meet me here, I have no choice but to help you. _Iroh took another gulp of tea, and continued writing, unsure what Zuko would have to say of this. _I know where your mother is, but there are many things before you can see her again._


End file.
